


the sea and the rhythm there

by AngelicSentinel



Series: The Moonlight and the Sea [2]
Category: Magic Kaito, 名探偵コナン | Detective Conan | Case Closed
Genre: Do not repost, Established Relationship, Fluff and Smut, M/M, MerMay, Non-Human Genitalia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:41:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26619112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngelicSentinel/pseuds/AngelicSentinel
Summary: Kaito feels heady from his vulnerability. This is what he wanted, back when he thought Shinichi was hiding things from him. Some part of him was always so restrained, and now Kaito knows why.Or, in which Kaito is a little scared of his merman boyfriend but a lot in love.
Relationships: Kudou Shinichi | Edogawa Conan/Kuroba Kaito | Kaitou Kid
Series: The Moonlight and the Sea [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1934134
Comments: 10
Kudos: 115





	the sea and the rhythm there

**Author's Note:**

> 💞🎂✨🎉🎈

The drive back is quiet. They don’t talk.

Kaito feels some part of that is his fault, but he just doesn’t know what to say. Shinichi's pale legs, naked on the passenger seat, draw his gaze, and Kaito finds it hard to look away from them and keep his eyes on the road. The soaked jacket doesn't cover much.

What _do_ you say when your boyfriend is a merman? 

He still doesn't have words as they settle inside, and Shinichi strips off the coat, throwing it in the wash. He's limping again; finding out the origins of his chronic pain are supernatural hasn't changed Kaito's desire to spirit it away from him.

Shinichi's anxious though, if the way he keeps glancing at Kaito is any indication.

Kaito strips, sets his pearl ring down carefully on the small folding table, and throws his own clothes in. He comes up behind Shinichi and settles his arms around him. Shinichi sighs and leans into his embrace.

"I thought I'd lose you," Shinichi admits. 

"It'd take more than this. A lot more. In fact, I can't fathom anything that would make me leave you," Kaito says against his cheek.

"Kaito—"

"Your legs are still hurting," Kaito says, changing the subject. He doesn't want to argue right now.

"Well, yes," Shinichi says. "They always do."

"They don't have to, anymore," Kaito points out.

Shinichi turns. "What am I supposed to do? I can't just flop around on the tatami."

Kaito grabs his hand, pulls him to the bathroom. The tub is large and deep and wide; he turns on the water to Shinichi's preferred near scalding temperature. "I said a bath, remember? It’s not a salt bath, but I think you might enjoy it, especially after your cool dip, hmm?"

"You want me to change?" Shinichi asks, hesitant. 

And yeah. Kaito's not too thrilled about _that._ But Shinichi can't help he's part _that._ "I do," he says warmly.

Shinichi stares at him for a long second, and then nods, settling down in the tub. He takes off the ring, his body morphing as his legs fuse together and brilliant glittering cobalt races down his legs. Fins grow; his hair, nails, and teeth lengthen. He sets the ring on the side of the tub and then leans back, letting out a hiss of relief. "Oh, that's _nice,"_ he moans. 

Kaito swallows thickly, fear tingling at the pit of his stomach. Slits open up on his ribs; gills.

The light was poor, back at the pier, and Kaito only observed him by the moon. Under the soft light in the bathroom, Shinichi gleams. His skin is the faintest blue. His lower half is pretty, in an objective way, his fins spread out like an ornamental fish. Kaito is perhaps too surprised he doesn't smell like the sea. "Kaito, you okay?" Shinichi asks. He’s so worried it’s charming. Kaito thinks he loves him a little more for it. 

"Of course," Kaito says. He can't help the way the anxiety churns inside him, but he doesn't have to be ruled by it. It helps that the really gross parts, the parts that freak Kaito out the most, Shinichi doesn't have, though the fins are bad enough. "...Are you poisonous?"

"Venomous," Shinichi corrects gently. "And yes."

Kaito goes very still, heart thudding in his chest.

"I don't know how deadly it is for humans, but it shouldn't—I won't hurt you," Shinichi says, twisting his hands.

"I know," Kaito says, his voice overloud. He leans over the tub, begins stroking Shinichi's tail, between the two fins on his hips. Can they even be called hips? Kaito wonders.

Shinichi lets out one of his delightful sexy moans and slides down deeper into the water. That at least, hasn't changed much. "It's just, _hng,_ underneath my nails and if I bite you, and even then, I have to consciously choose to inject venom into you."

"Not in your s-spines?" Kaito asks.

"Some. Not me."

The low light didn't let him notice the slit before, right where his cock would be on a human. Kaito touches him, slides a finger down the line, and Shinichi jolts. The slit pulses, and it parts, a little.

"Not here?" he asks.

"That would be counterproductive," Shinichi says.

"D'you have a dick like this?" Kaito asks, fascinated by the way it parts and closes at his touch. If he ignores it's on a _thing._ He's pretty good at ignoring it.

"I do," Shinichi says. "But ah, merfolk are a little different? We copulate mostly underwater, and we line up. Form a seal for the, uh, fluid transfer. So we keep everything tucked away until we need it."

"You don't spawn?"

"No. We're still mammals by human classification," Shinichi says. "I think? At least, we feed our young with milk. Don't know about the rest, it's not a neat box."

"Science lesson," Kaito muses. "It's conscious too?"

"I can keep it tucked away like this if that's what you mean. A few things about human sexuality were so bizarre, at first."

"Like what?" Kaito asks, continuing to stroke.

"Well, like external dicks. The taboo around sex. The fact that your males can't carry—"

"What?"

"Not you too," Shinichi says, annoyed.

"What do you mean males can't carry?"

"What it sounds like. I was really hoping to carry yours, too. It would have been nice," he says wistfully.

"Babies?" Kaito squeaks.

"Yeah."

Shinichi wants—well that's something, isn't it? Kaito's surprised, but he's not opposed to the idea.

Kaito climbs in the tub, straddling him. He noticed it before, but Shinichi doesn't feel slimy. Just soft and smooth, like a ray. That sort of neoprene feeling. Though it's rough in the other direction. "How does that work?" 

"Well, I'm not sure, of course, this is conjecture, but the legends say that someone asked the kami for the Blessing of the Deep, and that's what they wanted, the ability to provide a family for their partner. Human education would have me believe it's similar to some underwater species, and over time, it favored the adaptation," Shinichi says, hand on his chin.

"You're hot when you're smart," Kaito says knowledgeably.

"So, all the time?" Shinichi asks.

"Yes," Kaito says, stroking his slit, loving the way it flutters and flexes under his fingers. "I want to be with you." 

"Like this?" Shinichi asks, swallowing heavily.

"Yeah," Kaito says. "Tell me how."

"Are you going to be okay with this?" Shinichi asks.

Not really, but any sign of hesitation and Shinichi will shut down. "It's you, Shinichi. I want to love all of you. Coax me through?"

"Yeah," he says. He sounds choked up. "Foreplay is kind of like what you're doing, but fingering can be a bad idea?"

"Am I going to lose a finger?" Kaito jokes.

Shinichi smiles. Kaito's glad; it takes the nervousness from his face.

"It won't hurt, but it adjusts to keep the come in, so if you get me too excited, my body decides it's time to fuck, and clamps down."

"Really?" Kaito says, interested. "One size fits all."

"And quickies can be challenging unless I go dick out," Shinichi says. "I can do that, or anal, which is pretty much the same as human, but I kind of," he trails off, blushes, runs his fingers through his long hair. "When I thought about this, I kind of wanted you inside me, our first time."

"You thought about this?" Kaito asks, continuing to stroke.

"Yeah," Shinichi says. "I know we've made love so many times, but this—this is what I think about first. What I dream about."

It's a confession, and Kaito feels heady from his vulnerability. This is what he wanted, back when he thought Shinichi was hiding things from him. Some part of Shinichi was always so restrained, and now Kaito knows why. "That makes sense. It can't have been easy, hiding this."

The water's still running, but it's not quite full yet, Kaito leaving it alone for now. "It wasn't," Shinichi says. "And I didn't want to, either. It's just—"

"—your tail," Kaito says, stroking it. But he keeps coming back to the slit. He leans over, shadowing it, and no, he wasn't seeing things. It has a faint glow. _Wild._

"How do you even bring it up?" You'd think I was crazy," Shinichi says.

"Can I?" Kaito asks.

"Go ahead," Shinichi says.

Kaito swallows, grabs his cock and lines it up, before guiding the tip in as Shinichi lets out a low noise. The first few centimeters he feels nothing, then he brushes up against something thick and warm. "That's it?" he asks.

"Yeah, you can go deeper, it's okay. Just my cock," Shinichi says. Kaito feels it move against his own, like a stroke, or a tease.

"You do have conscious control. Must be handy," Kaito says, easing deeper. He’s so tight. He's not sure about this at all, but he trusts Shinichi, and soon, he's in him to the hilt. He pulls out a little, thrusts in experimentally. Kaito lets out a groan as Shinichi pulses around him; his cock slides against his own, and Shinichi makes it brush against him even more.

"A little. I'm going to blow your mind, Kaito," Shinichi says. He trails a sharp nail down the ridge of his spine, down to his hip, pressing him deeper inside. "You feel so nice." He squeezes his ass, and his walls are working him from the inside as he strokes him with his cock. Thick, like a limb of its own. It’s so weird. 

Kaito loves it though. If he doesn't think about the fact he's got his dick in a—

He totally does. He's got his dick in one of those _finny things_ and he squirms, but then Shinichi kisses him, and the way he feels against him as he rocks inside is hot and perfect, and it's easier to ignore that way, though he feels the ones on Shinichi's arms brush against him and shivers.

It's still Shinichi and he's already said he won't sting him. And he's always been able to trust Shinichi's word.

It's still Shinichi.

Kaito pulls away, and Shinichi cups his face, smiling a very fangy grin. “I love you,” he says, and the last bit of hesitance Kaito has melts away. "You're so brave," he says. "I know you're afraid, but here you are, still loving me."

Kaito kisses the corner of his mouth. “It’s so easy to love you.”

Shinichi laughs. He presses his forehead against Kaito's own. "I was so afraid I'd lose you," he repeats, and finds Kaito's hand. Kaito squeezes it, runs his fingers over the webs.

"Shinichi," Kaito says, overcome with emotion. He wonders how much his ichthyophobia has inadvertently hurt Shinichi, how he must have struggled with the fear of losing Kaito’s affection. Never, Kaito thinks. Never. 

They rock together in silence, nothing but the sound of water, and their breaths mingling. Kaito feels the hug from the inside, tight and moving around his cock, the fluttering from his gills against his own torso. 

Shinichi pauses only a moment to turn the water off; even then they’re slowly moving together, bodies making waves. His skin against the deep blue of his tail reminds him of moonlight over the sea. Their lovemaking is slow and lazy; they’ve had a lot of days like this, spent in each other’s arms, just enjoying one another. No hurry, no need to finish, just. Affirmation. Acknowledgement of how deeply they are connected. 

Kaito is curious about his hair, and he reaches out, grabbing a strand. Kaito’s intuition is correct; it’s coarse. He wonders why it grows when he changes, or what purpose the length serves.

"I'm glad I found you, Shinichi," he says. The noise Shinichi makes in response is quiet but appreciative. Kaito can never forget his naked body on the beach that day, his air of complete befuddlement at nearly everything, the unsteady way he'd walked, like his legs were made of waves.

"Me too." Shinichi puts his hand over his heart. "I think I've been in love with you since the first time I saw you," he murmurs, tracing the bullet scar over his heart.

Kaito's heart aches. "Then it _was_ you," he says. "I thought so." He puts his own hand over Shinichi's. "Jii called it a miracle, but it wasn't. It was you. You pulled me ashore and healed me."

"Yeah," Shinichi says. "Pretty obvious now, huh?" 

Kaito squeezes his hand gently. He owes Shinichi more than he ever could have dreamed. His life, twice over. No, more.

No way he could possibly let a little thing like a fi—tail sway him.

He's not sure how it had worked; probably part of the same magic that lets him change to human and back again.

"Oh, there it goes," Shinichi says on the next lazy thrust, and the pressure around his cock intensifies as Shinichi sucks him deeper, his inner walls clamping down around him. The rolling pulses are still gentle, but Kaito is no longer moving. Shinichi's body is doing all the work as Kaito rests on top of him. He attempts to lift his hips as an experiment, but that's all it is. An attempt. They're well and truly locked together. It's incredible.

He snuggles deeper into Shinichi's embrace. Shinichi rolls and pulses around him, gripping him tightly and milking him. The sensation is intense, and Kaito can't help but dig his fingers into Shinichi's thicker skin.

"Hi," Shinichi says, pulling him close.

"Hi," Kaito breathes. He groans. "You're so tight."

"Just for you," Shinichi says. He pauses for a second, running his tongue over jagged sharp teeth. “Do you want—I mean—”

"With you? Always," Kaito says, and Shinichi scratches his nails down Kaito's back, soft and sure, a gentle repeating stroke.

"You're not fair," Shinichi says against his face, even as his muscles tighten around Kaito's cock. It's more intense now, the pulsing pull, and Kaito has trouble regulating his breathing. It's building, hot and heavy between his legs, and Kaito can't think, let alone speak as the rolling sensation quickens.

"You're the one calling me unfair?" he pants. "Ah, _Ah!"_ he arches into Shinichi and buries his face into his long coarse hair. Shinichi's muscles don't release him though, continuing to hold him and twitch around him. "I love you so much," Kaito murmurs against his ear, a very near whisper. His breathing is ragged and hot and rough.

“Love you too,” Shinichi says, out of breath. 

“It’s too much,” Kaito says, still breathless himself. The pulses are coming faster now, almost like Shinichi’s body knows the best way to wreck him. He's given all he can and Shinichi's still taking, taking, taking.

“I’m close,” Shinichi’s rough voice crashes into his ears like waves. 

“Yeah?” Kaito says. 

“Yeah,” Shinichi groans. 

“You’re so beautiful,” Kaito says, tucking a strand of hair behind a pointed ear. He links his fingers through webbed ones. Shinichi grabs him, caresses his tongue ever so gently with his own, tangling them together, and Kaito yields to him. Lets him take here, too, explore as long as he likes. 

"Kaito, I—" Shinichi sags, sinking deeper into the water. His body releases Kaito's. "That was amazing, thank you."

"You're amazing," Kaito says, and Shinichi laughs.

"Stop it," he grumbles, but he looks so pleased.

Shinichi presses his face against Kaito's in sort of a nuzzle, and Kaito just lets him. He does it a lot, and now Kaito is wondering if it's a cultural thing, the way he rests his forehead against his own.

They lay there for a while, Kaito wrapped in Shinichi's arms. They're curled around his back so protectively.

Eventually though, Kaito shifts to the side, pulling out and sinking a little to the side as Shinichi bobs up. He presses his fingers against the gills on his torso, flapping futilely for water, and Shinichi grimaces as he traces them.

"Does it hurt?" Kaito asks. 

"A little oversensitive out of the water," Shinichi says, which is not a no, so Kaito stops. Trails his fingers down to his navel, and that's interesting, he thinks as he circles it with his fingers. That means umbilical cord, that they have live births. Runs back up to a nipple, which is less surprising. 

He doesn't have the strange little fin ridge common in depictions of merfolk, where the _finny_ part is different; his tail is seamless, smooth, clearly part of his body instead of some weird amalgamation of _those_ and humans. Somehow, while it doesn't entirely take the fear away, it makes Shinichi different enough that he relaxes.

Gills and lungs. Incredible. He presses his head against his chest, and his heart sounds the same.

"Playing doctor?" Shinichi says, and Kaito hears the amusement in his voice.

"I want to examine you _thoroughly,"_ Kaito says, and the rising purple on Shinichi's cheeks has to be a faint blush. He presses a kiss to the ridge of a gill, careful to leave it featherlight, kisses down his stomach and to his tail. He tongues his navel, and the taste is slightly different from his human form, less sweat salt, though he can’t think of a good comparison. He probably doesn’t sweat like this. Though by the heat of his skin, he’s definitely endothermic. He licks the not-quite-scales (though Kaito actually doesn't know if they are or not), rough against his tongue. Is it skin? Shinichi has head hair. It’s not very hydrodynamic though, the drag it would cause, so it must have some other purpose. Perhaps a defense mechanism to make them appear larger than they are. 

He licks his way lower, edging around the slit. 

"You're gonna—?" Shinichi asks.

"Yeah," Kaito says, and presses a kiss to his slit. He licks inside it, and the flavor is stronger, perhaps a citrusy salt; It flexes and parts for him, and his cock peeps out. Just a little. It's covered in Kaito's come and glowing a faint bioluminescent blue in the dim light, and Kaito takes the fat pointed tip into his mouth. It has ridges that spiral down the shaft and Kaito learns it all by tongue, traces the little furrows, memorizing it. It gets fatter farther down the shaft for a bit, probably to make it easier to part the slit and keep it sealed.

"Fuck," Shinichi says.

"Umph," Kaito agrees, mouth filled with his cock. More keeps coming out, it has surprising length, and it undulates against his tongue, massaging it gently. Kaito thinks of the pearl ring and wonders. Maybe once he stops flinching from Shinichi he'll be able to use it. Filling him with one of these cocks sounds nice. They're so beautiful, the shape and feel and the way they softly glow.

And the _length—_ Should Kaito even try to take that down?

Who would he be if he didn't even try?

So he relaxes his throat, takes him down, deeper, putting his sword swallowing skills to good use, and whatever he can't take he strokes with his hand.

 _"Fuck,"_ Shinichi repeats, and Kaito's involuntary laughter sends vibration through his shaft.

Champion deep throater, that's Kaito.

He lifts his head, sucks the tip, sinks back down his length. Does it again and again, adding cheeky little swirls of his tongue here and there around the odd spiral ridges. Ah, it's so fun! The little noises Shinichi makes, the way his fins flare when he licks down that one particularly large ridge curling down his cock.

Kaito's still good at this. His cock’s squirming in his mouth, and Kaito is wondering if he’s close. He pulls off, a string of drool connecting from his mouth to his cock, and his eyes meet Shinichi’s. 

His expression is open, vulnerable. His eyes are half-lidded and his smile is so soft it nearly breaks Kaito’s heart. 

Kaito's the luckiest man in the world. Shinichi caresses his face with his cock, leaking a little, and Kaito leans into it. He takes Shinichi back into his mouth and hums, a tune composed of pure joy. He bobs his head down, taking him deep before raising it again, letting him glide down his throat and back out again.

The feel of his tail under his fingers has ceased to bother him. His world has narrowed to pleasuring Shinichi, giving him back what he's gifted Kaito. It doesn't matter that he has a tail. It doesn't matter that it's new or a little strange. Kaito loves him so much it makes him lightheaded, euphoric with love. 

Kaito catches his eyes as he glances up, and he can’t tell if Shinichi’s close. No matter. He’ll take it as he comes either way. 

Kaito loves him so much it’s unreal. He’s almost speechless with the strength of it. He takes him down again and again, alternates it with sloppy exploration of those spiral swirling ridges. 

Finally, it twitches, Shinichi biting one thick lip with a fang, and he closes his eyes and bucks up into Kaito’s mouth. It tastes a bit like thick sea water; bitter, but easy enough to swallow. A nice little mouthful. He smirks, and Shinichi laughs, running his fingers through Kaito’s hair. “I love you,” he says.

“Yeah, me too,” Kaito says. His eyes flicker to the pearl ring on the edge of the tub. Shinichi follows his gaze. 

“What’s it like?” Kaito asks. 

Shinichi’s working his jaw, but finally he says, “Strange.” Kaito opens his mouth, but Shinichi beats him to it. “Not bad, exactly. Or good, for that matter. Just strange. I admit I’m a little worried,” he says. “You know, given my legs and,” he swallows thickly, trails off. “I don’t want you to have trouble breathing.”

“You mean if it follows the same pattern,” Kaito says.

“Yes,” Shinichi says. 

“Let’s see,” Kaito says, braver than he feels. 

Shinichi’s eyes are wide, and Kaito has a strange feeling if he were human they’d be a little wet. As it is, he swallows again. Takes Kaito’s hand in his, and slips the ring on the third finger of his left hand. 

The change is instantaneous. His legs split, branching off into four as he falls against Shinichi. His spine ripples as some sort of mottled off white color shoots its way over the lower half of his body and suckers pop out of the appendages that used to be his legs. 

“Oh,” Shinichi says quietly. “That’s unexpected.”

“I'm an octopus?” Kaito says, nonplussed. “Why am I an octopus?” He looks at his hands, the gleaming nacre nails, the faintest pearl sheen to his skin. “Decapus?” His body has settled, and he's pale white with dark rings spotting his lower half.

“Octopus sounds better, even if you have ten limbs,” Shinichi says. “At least you don’t have fins?” 

“True,” Kaito says. “Akako’s got a nice sense of humor, doesn’t she?” He laughs, and it sounds more nervous than he’d like to let on. He looks down. “Wait, I’ve still got nipples.”

Shinichi’s laugh is much more genuine. "Yes. We're still the same."

Kaito frowns. "That doesn't make sense, I'm pretty sure they're not even in the same taxonomic tree—"

"Lady Akako is a serpent," Shinichi says. "And my great grandmother was what you call a kraken."

"You're kidding," Kaito says, and can't help it as all of his limbs twine around Shinichi in sort of a reflexive response. They change colors, matching the cobalt of Shinichi’s tail. 

"Oh," Shinichi says, looking down at the writhing mess that is Kaito's legs and blushing, "Um, no. We're not actually um, fish, you know that, right?"

"You have a navel," Kaito agrees sagely. 

"Right. It's just a superficial resemblance. _Ah, Kaito!"_ Shinichi cries out.

Kaito retracts his legs as much as possible, apologizing. "I'm so sorry, Shinichi," he says, worried. "There's so many and they're kind of moving on their own!" He's not even sure which one did it to be honest. Or what it did. The tactile input is more than a little overwhelming. 

"That wasn't a cry of pain," Shinichi says with another laugh, and he trails his fingers down Kaito's new body, finding Kaito's own slit and stroking it. "Idiot octopuses."

"Isn't it octopi?" Kaito wonders.

“Technically, no. Octopodes, if you’re being pedantic," he says, coaxing Kaito's cock out of his slit by tracing around the damn thing, sending sharp jolts of desire all the way through each part of his body. If this is how he felt when Kaito did it, it's a wonder he didn't go insane. As it parts, fat head peeking out, Kaito sees it glows too, a soft indigo. It’s so weird. It moves on its own, too. Kaito wiggles it around just because he can. 

"You're so hot," Kaito says. He's got the smartest boyfriend ever.

"Idiot," Shinichi says again, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

"No," Kaito says, and gives in to the instinctive urge to wrap his limbs completely around Shinichi. Lets them wander over him, doing whatever they want. Which apparently is to trap Shinichi in a tight embrace.

He buries his face into Shinichi’s neck. Shinichi shifts just a little, giving him more room to splay his...Would they be legs? Or arms? Giving him more room to splay his limbs out. Ha, Kaito might still be freaked out a little. Just a little.

Turning into some kind of mammalian octopus amalgamation will do that to a person. 

At least he’s not finny. Could be worse, honestly. Kaito wonders if he’s a vertebrate.

Kaito rolls back, stroking his hand down Shinichi’s chest. Tracing the line of his pectorals down to the bottom of his ribcage and then back up again. “Shinichi?” he asks. 

"Hmm?" he says.

"Do you ever want to go back to the sea?"

Shinichi doesn't answer right away. He takes a deep breath, holds it, then releases it. Kaito settles lower in the water, resting his head on Shinichi's chest, and listens to his heart's rapid beat.

"Maybe to visit," he says finally.

"That doesn't sound happy."

"I didn't leave on good terms." His hand falls to Kaito's hair, and he scratches his scalp gently.

"Oh." Kaito doesn't want to needle him. As much as he'd enjoy hearing about it, never at the expense of Shinichi. He made that mistake once. Never again. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Shinichi says, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. "I made my choice a long time ago, and I have to live with it." 

"That being me?" Kaito asks, rueful. He's incredibly touched, but Shinichi must have family, friends. And he's had to bear this loss alone all this time.

"No, I didn't mean it like that. I'd go back and do it all again, Kaito." Shinichi sighs. "But I would like to introduce you to my parents, my best friend. Well, I don't know if we're best friends anymore after five years of not speaking." 

"I'd go," Kaito says.

"Your phobia—"

"—Doesn't really matter," Kaito says. "It's not unmanageable. I just don't like them. Uh, no offense."

"None taken," Shinichi says, tilting Kaito's head up, and he leans down for a kiss. Long, and too deep to be considered chaste, but no tongue. "We argued that last night. And then I left to seek out Lady Akako. Swam away without looking back."

"I see," Kaito says. How lonely that must have been. And how terrifying. He wraps Shinichi more tightly in his embrace.

"Now look at me. I'm happy. It's just that—"

"You want for them to approve your choices?" Kaito asks.

"I want them to see what I see," Shinichi says. "What a wonderful, incredible person you are."

Heat rises to Kaito's face, and he tucks it back against Shinichi's chest. "I'm sorry. You gave up everything." His heart. His home.

"I don't see it like that," Shinichi says. He kisses Kaito again. “I gained everything.”

“You had no way of knowing that I’d ever love you back,” Kaito says. 

“You were worth trying for,” Shinichi says.

Almost without conscious thought, his limbs wind tighter around Shinichi so they’re pressed even closer. “We can go. I don’t mind.”

“Are you sure?” Shinichi asks. Something in his tone wavering, vulnerable. As if he doesn’t dare hope. 

“Of course. Just ah, so long as I don’t have to get close to actual fish. Not counting family. Which you aren’t anyway.” Shinichi’s lip twitches. Worried that he’s hurt his feelings, Kaito desperately tries to backtrack. “I mean fish. Not family. You’re definitely family. I meant you’re not fish. Shutting up now.”

Shinichi laughs. Kisses him once more, just because. His cock slides out, and Kaito’s follows without much of a thought, near instinctual. They twine together, ridges meeting ridges, and Kaito marvels at the fact he doesn’t even have to touch them. They’re sliding together on their own, a soft bluish glow in the shadow of their bodies. This prehensile thing is really cool.

Instead, he clings to Shinichi, and Shinichi clings back. It’s so easy, lying there together. As easy as it ever was. Easier now, knowing what he knows. 

Kaito’s heart is so full. He loves Shinichi so much it scares him a little. Aches for him, knowing what he had to give up. 

It’s so new and so strange, and yet, it’s like nothing has changed at all. 

Together they move, like waves. Cresting and falling, following the ebb and flow. Kaito above, Shinichi below. 

Like moonlight over the sea. 


End file.
